You’ve already beaten the odds — now make sure your fortune doesn’t roll the dice without you. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of helping lottery winners turn sudden wealth into lasting legacies. Here are six key considerations to keep in mind from an estate planning perspective:

1. Assemble a Strong Advisory Team

Winning the lottery is thrilling — but it can also be overwhelming and cause immense anxiety. To alleviate this anxiety I recommend building a trusted team of professionals who have the experience to help you navigate this transition wisely. Your team should include a financial planner, accountant, investment advisor, and an estate lawyer (ideally with trust expertise). I recommend that these advisors have experience with high net worth or ultra high net worth clients because the planning involved has nuances unique to such clients. You wouldn’t want to go to a surgeon who has only done straightforward surgeries for a complex surgery. For larger winnings, consider a family office to oversee long-term strategy and administration.

A well-coordinated team will help you manage, preserve, and grow your wealth in alignment with your goals.

2. Dream Big – But Plan Realistically

A fun game that I know we all play is, ‘What would you do if you win the lottery?’  Well, you’ve won! Now is your opportunity to dream big and have fun with it.

You may dream of setting off around the world, buying a home in a beautiful neighbourhood, securing your children’s economic futures and bringing smiles to your friends and family through gifts, experiences and financial alleviation… all while preserving your wealth and in fact even growing it.

I suggest sitting down with your estate planner (and assembled team of advisors) to share your aspirations. Your team can assess how realistic it is to achieve your wildest dreams and help you balance enjoyment with sustainability.

3. Protect Your Privacy

I am always surprised at how many people come out of the woodwork asking lottery winners for financial support.  While generosity is admirable, it’s important to first establish a financial and estate plan. Limiting who knows about your win early on can reduce pressure and protect your ability to meet long-term goals. I recommend only sharing the news on an absolute need-to-know basis, especially before the prize money is collected and financial and estate plans outlined.  Depending on the point in the process at which I’ve been engaged, there can be strategies that I would recommend to help maintain some level of privacy.

4. Establish Your Priorities

Your values — e.g., family, community, philanthropy — and your ranking of this moral playlist should guide your financial decisions. Clarifying your “Top Priority” (e.g., long-term financial security for your family) helps shape your estate and financial plans. This may include budgeting, investing, and using trust structures to protect, grow, and direct your wealth.

Sudden wealth can change relationships and expectations. With a clear plan and a strong team, you can stay true to your values, protect your legacy, and enjoy the opportunities ahead.

• Consider Trust Structures

Trusts can be powerful tools for managing wealth, if drafted well. They allow you to control how and when beneficiaries receive funds and can help shield you from unsolicited requests. For example, a trust can ensure that only designated beneficiaries benefit from your estate, while others can be politely declined using formal communication. Trusts can also support multigenerational planning if you wish to take a dynastic approach – here, it would be particularly important to work with an experienced professional in trusts for high net worth clients.

5. Be Thoughtful About Gifts and How They’re Structured

Many lottery winners find joy in giving to loved ones and charities. A word of caution – it’s important to align these gifts with your broader financial goals and priorities.

For example, you may wish to make gifts to your parents and siblings. As an estate planner gets to know you and your priorities, as discussed above, it may become evident that what you really want is to, (i) provide for your parents in their old age and (ii) financially help your siblings but with a limit ($X) as to how much they ultimately receive.  If you give your parents an outright gift, you have no control of the funds. The funds may become diminished and not available for end of life care. Or your parents may die not having used the funds, with the result that the funds go to your siblings via your parents estate (and your siblings therefore receive more than $X, the amount you intended for them to receive).  In the estate planning process we would discuss ways to structure these gifts that would avoid either of these results and instead achieve your ultimate intentions.

You may also wish to make charitable gifts. It may be tax advantageous to donate annually or in certain years that we know that there will be a tax event in your portfolio. You also may wish to make the donations with conditions attached to guarantee that the motivation behind your gift, for example to achieve a certain purpose within the charity, is met. Considering the timing and structure of charitable gifts is important.

6. A Shared Fortune Needs a Shared Vision

Estate planning is highly personal and depends on your unique circumstances, including family dynamics. If you have a spouse or children, your plan will naturally differ from someone who is single.

My advice if you and a partner have won together, is to aim for a unified approach—“one family, one plan.”

In my experience, aligning your goals helps prevent emotional stress (and resulting sleepless nights, if you can believe it!), impulsive decisions, and financial missteps, while also preserving family harmony.

As with all aspects of planning, collaboration among your professional advisors is essential to ensure your vision is clearly and effectively implemented.

Conclusion

Your jackpot can be more than a headline — it can be a legacy. The above demonstrates that while winning the lottery is luck, with strategy and a well-advised plan, you can keep and grow your jackpot, winning for years to come.